The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) just issued a partial list of its safest vehicles of the 2012 production year (the full list is expected later in the year). Popular sentiment has it that small cars are not as safe, but he great news for those looking for a new, economical car is that several of the top picks are indeed small gas-sippers.
• Chevrolet Sonic. At 40 mpg on the highway, this new offering for the 2012 model year from Chevy is definitely worth of attention. Available as a hatchback or sedan, the Sonic includes great safety features like side airbags and electronic stability control, which helps prevent rollovers. And in case of a rollover, the Sonic can support up to 5.37 times its own weight – an impressive figure that is 4 times the minimum required to get a top rating.
• Honda Civic. Another top performer, the perennially popular Civic clocks in at 39 mpg highway/28 mpg city, with great features like stability control and brake assist.
• Ford Focus. Another terrific combination of economy and safety, the Focus gets 37 mpg highway/27 mpg city. It boasts some of the same features of the Sonic and Civic, including electronic stability control, side airbags, optional rear-view camera, and a breaking system called torque vectoring control which helps negotiate sharp curves.
In the luxury car segment, the Audi A6 was a top safety performer, while the Volkswagen Passat made the list in the mid-size division. The full list of top safety picks from the IIHS will be available later in the year.
